


Summertime

by LaBelleetlaloup



Series: The Once and Future King [2]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Court Politics, F/F, F/M, Female Merlin, Gen, Mistaken for Being in a Relationship, POV Merlin, Pining, Sharing a Bed, The Old Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-28 23:22:22
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3873757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaBelleetlaloup/pseuds/LaBelleetlaloup
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur recovers with ill grace and a treaty visit from King Bayard must needs be returned. Morgana flirts with the idea of marrying Bayard's eldest son. Also, Merlin has a very lovely trip home for Midsummer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Summertime

Since Arthur’s arm was in a sling to protect his shoulder for a few weeks until Gaius decided it was fully healed, Arthur was in horrible prat mood after the first few days. It really helped with Merlin not fawning over Arthur just for being alive. Arthur could not attend training in a sling, nor could he go on patrol, and since the last time Uther had allowed him to hunt, he found the Questing Beast, he was not allowed to do that either. Of course, given that there had been unreasonably nice weather for a fortnight, it rained nearly every day of those painfully long weeks. Therefore, Arthur had to do a lot of sitting. Uther was apparently in the beginnings of talks with several other Kingdoms to form alliances, and Arthur ended up writing a lot of letters to the other Kings. Merlin wondered absently if anyone had remembered to write to the Queens but Arthur was not in the sort of mood to appreciate questions. She also learned more about politics and the surrounding kingdoms than she had ever thought there was to know. She knew who they were seeking alliance with, who they were already allied with, who they had no treaties with at all, and perhaps most interestingly, who had daughters that Arthur could flirt with to seemingly sweeten the alliance and who had sons for Morgana to do the same.

The rest of Arthur’s time was spent in council or receiving audiences or yelling at Merlin. Thankfully, he sent her on errands rather frequently, so Merlin got to see Geraint and Galahad and Gwen and Morgana almost as much as she saw Arthur. She also saw a fair bit of Leon, who Arthur often sent her to with messages about how he wanted the training to go. She could tell that Leon was irritated with Arthur’s constant suggestions, but he had the decency not to take it out on her. He also often asked after Gwen and Merlin wished that Tom had been more than a blacksmith because Leon was good and kind and honorable and would make Gwen happy. But Leon was also a Lord and she was fairly certain that he was a wealthy one, given how Arthur and Uther respected him, and there could be no way for Leon to marry her unless someone made Gwen a noble herself.

Finally, about halfway through June, almost to Midsummer, Arthur got the sling off. He was in a perfectly wonderful mood until he went to training and his arm was stiffer than normal, because half the time he had dismissed Merlin without letting her help him stretch it, and he was not as good as he usually was. Merlin felt all her excitement at Arthur being in a good mood and the possibility of going home for Midsummer drain away. She would not be going anywhere. Arthur would either throw a fit and refuse to let her leave or overreact and probably fire her if she asked for time off now.

“Why the long face?” Geraint asked. “I would have thought you’d be glad Arthur was cleared for strenuous activity.”

“You will notice that he is still not in peak condition and looks more than a little irritable about it,” Merlin grumbled back. “I was hoping to get some time off soon to see my mother but I won’t be able to get a few hours free with him still in a prat mood.”

“I shouldn’t think it would be too difficult for you to improve his mood,” Geraint said with a leer. For a moment, Merlin’s heart stopped, because how many times had she seen that expression when the man knew she was a woman?

“Geraint, honestly!” Leon called out. “Where’s my water?” Geraint obligingly jogged over to his master and Merlin managed to recompose herself. Goddess above, but that had been frightening. She silently reminded herself that some of the knights clearly thought she and Arthur were lovers and that was all Geraint had meant. There was no way he knew she was a witch. Merlin was selfishly grateful when Arthur stalked off the field soon after, though. She trailed behind him back to his chambers, glad that there would be no one there to say anything to her about Arthur that would frighten her into thinking, even just for a moment, that they knew she was a woman.

“What did Geraint say?” Arthur asked the moment the door to his chambers closed behind them. Merlin froze again. “Merlin, tell me, obviously it upset you.”

“It was nothing. I thought… He was making a joke and I briefly misunderstood him, I thought he said something else.”

“Oh,” Arthur ruffled her hair. “Honestly, Merlin, just can’t take you anywhere. Even Leon noticed, that’s why he called Geraint over. Now, share the joke.”

“Um…” Merlin knew she’d turned red.

“Oh, poor country bumpkin,” Arthur scoffed. “He made a joke about a woman and you didn’t get it.”

“He made a joke about you,” Merlin corrected. “For a moment, I thought he was accusing me of treason.” Arthur was the one to freeze, his expression doing something strange.

“Oh, he said…” Arthur murmured. “I see. I can understand how it took you a moment to understand what he meant. Do you want me to have Leon tell him not to make those sorts of jokes anymore? Did that upset you too?”

“No, just thinking that my friend was accusing me of treason,” Merlin told him with a shrug. “I know all the knights think that. I’m not blind, or deaf.”

“If it bothers you, I will speak to them,” Arthur assured her. Merlin briefly wondered where his prat mood had gone.

“It doesn’t bother me,” Merlin told him. “It’s actually kind of nice, because some of the knights are a lot nicer to me than the rest of the servants and since I’m around them a lot…” Arthur winced a little.

“Yes… the knights are not uniformly respectful of the servants,” he admitted. “So long as it doesn’t bother you, I’ll continue to ignore the gossip. It’s harmless enough that there’s no reason for me to acknowledge it.”

“That’s mostly what I do,” Merlin told him. “They make jokes and I pretend not to notice.”

“Do I have anything else to do this evening?” Arthur asked. Merlin thought about it before she answered.

“Are you eating supper with Morgana or your Father?”

“Both, I think,” Arthur answered. “Definitely need a bath, then. Go fetch me one.” Merlin purposefully said nothing about Arthur getting himself out of his armor; it would upset him, and hurried down to the kitchens to get the water. Adara, who was a gift from the goddess, had already started heating water when Arthur had left the training field. Merlin planted a smacking kiss on her cheek without thinking about it and Adara blushed to her hairline.

“Thank you so much!” she gushed. The water was already heated almost to the proper temperature when she arrived so she only had to wait a few moments with Adara too tongue-tied to chat before taking the bathwater back up to Arthur. As Merlin had suspected, Arthur was irritably trying to escape from his armor with very little success when she returned.

“That was fast,” Arthur commented, staring at her. “Did you steal Morgana’s bathwater?” Merlin sat the water down and tugged his tub out of the antechamber.

“No,” Merlin gave him a look. “I’m not crazy. Adara, one of my friends who works in the kitchens, had already put the bathwater on to heat when you left the training grounds. She’s a gift from the goddess.”

“What would Morgana say if she heard you talk like that about someone else?” Arthur teased as Merlin filled his tub with hot water.

“Morgana doesn’t care.” Merlin rolled her eyes. “Would you like some help with your armor?” Arthur sighed heavily before nodding. Merlin hid her amusement as best she could but Arthur grumbled at her so she probably didn’t succeed. Merlin helped Arthur out of his armor and then his shirt, then she stepped back and busied herself with getting his soaps and towels while he got his trousers off. But when she turned back around, Arthur was just staring at her back, not having even reached for his trousers. Merlin just stared back at him, wondering if there was a bug on her or something.

“Merlin, come here,” Arthur finally ordered. Merlin acquiesced, stopping about arm’s length from Arthur. “Closer.” Merlin took another step closer. Arthur reached out, took her wrist in his hand and pulled her so she was standing nearly chest to chest with him. “Stop me if I’m overstepping,” Arthur murmured. He leaned forward and his lips brushed hers. Merlin startled backwards. “Merlin?” Arthur asked quietly.

“Please don’t,” she murmured, taking a firm step back. Arthur nodded. His expression closed off into studied blankness.

“My apologies, then,” he replied. “You can go if you want.” Merlin wavered. On the one hand yes, thank you, goodbye, we’ll start over tomorrow. On the other, she would have to give Gaius some sort of explanation for why she was there so early and she was probably supposed to serve Arthur at supper tonight anyway which would be more awkward if she left.

“It’s fine,” Merlin mumbled. She busied herself with tidying up his chambers. Behind her, she heard Arthur slid into his bath. There was a companionable quiet as Arthur soaked and Merlin polished his armor at the table. Arthur made a low, strangled noise of pain after a while and Merlin’s head snapped around. He was trying to wash his hair. “You call me an idiot,” Merlin rolled her eyes. She had crossed over and knelt at his side, knocking his hands away to do it herself before she even thought about the fact Arthur had just tried to kiss her. Arthur, however, had clearly not forgotten.

“I can do it,” he insisted.

“You’ll just strain your shoulder and it will take you longer to get back to fighting fit, Arthur. Let me help you.” Arthur subsided with ill grace, pouting at her. “You’re such a child sometimes. It’s okay to need help if you’re hurt. It doesn’t make you a weak person.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Arthur grumbled. Merlin just sighed quietly. She had not intended to patronize him.

“Close your eyes,” she murmured, scooping water into her hands to rinse the soap from his hair. Arthur acquiesced, tilting his head forward to help the soap not run into his eyes. Once his hair was clean, Arthur got out of the bath. Merlin carefully kept her eyes averted even while she handed him towels and helped him dry his hair. For once, Arthur seemed to notice.

“Merlin,” he started, before his voice failed him. She went and fetched him clothes to put on. Arthur let her help him into appropriate attire for supper with Uther and Morgana before he took a deep breath and continued his thought. “I’m not trying to push, but it’s not that you don’t like me, is it?” Merlin ducked her head, trying to find an answer she could give him. “Please.”

“You’re my employer,” Merlin could give him that answer. “I don’t want to cross those sorts of relationships.” Arthur looked simultaneously relieved and disappointed.

“So, you’re trying to tempt me to fire you,” Arthur teased, pulling Merlin in by her wrist again and wrapping his arms around her waist. “It’s a shame I’ve gotten used to your smart mouth. I’d be too bored with any of the other servants.”

“Arthur!” Merlin chided. Arthur slumped into her, resting his forehead on her shoulder. Her arms came up and wrapped around him almost of their own volition. They stayed like that for a long moment before Arthur straightened up and stepped back.

“Go dump out that bathwater before I need to go to supper,” he ordered. Merlin nodded and did as bade. Maybe the prat mood was back. Who knew what was going through his mind? It was time for supper when Merlin returned with the emptied and cleaned washtub, so she quickly stowed it in the antechamber and followed Arthur down to the council chambers where Uther had his suppers.

Merlin served Arthur quietly and did not notice that she was behaving that oddly until Morgana asked if a cat had caught her tongue.

“No, my lady,” Merlin blushed a little. “Arthur’s been anxious to get the sling off and get back to training for the past few days. He’s been a little easily provoked.”

“Finally got him properly trained, then,” Uther teased Arthur, who blushed. Merlin knew exactly what Arthur was thinking of and blushed as well. Uther laughed loudly at their expense and Gwen twisted her mouth up in a clearly displeased pout but also seemed to be surprised. Merlin knew it had to look like they were blushing about more than her telling Arthur not to kiss her but Gwen didn’t have to look so rude about it. Morgana giggled at Gwen’s expression.

“Told you,” she murmured. Uther raised his eyebrows at her. “Nothing, Uther. I was just asking Gwen for some more water.”

“Normally your handmaid anticipates all your needs,” he commented. “Perhaps Gaius should make sure she’s not coming down with some summer illness.”

“I’m sure it’s just that I woke up early this morning and roused her out of her bed before dawn,” Morgana replied with a bright smile. “A bird woke me and I couldn’t even try to get back to sleep.”

“Poor Gwen,” Merlin piped up. Morgana rolled her eyes at him.

“Father, I was hoping that you would allow me to go on a hunting trip soon,” Arthur said abruptly. “I’ve been feeling a little confined with my arm being in a sling and being unable to train or go on patrol.”

“You have to understand why I’m a little leery of you going hunting, Arthur. Last time I let you go hunting, you found some giant lizard creature and nearly died from its bite.” Uther looked more than a little uncomposed just at the thought. Merlin had to agree. She would be so grateful when the incident stopped coming up and she could mostly push it aside and forget any of it happened.

“Perhaps we could go on a short visit to one of the near kingdoms that you’re seeking an alliance with,” Morgana suggested. “We would naturally have plenty of knights with us to protect us and Arthur could spend a few days on horseback and sleeping under the stars each way.”

“I think that is a good compromise,” Uther agreed. “You’re forever full of good counsel, my dear.”

“Thank you,” Morgana beamed at him and ducked her head. Maybe that had been what Uther had told her, or something similar. Merlin had never been able to work it into conversation, after Arthur nearly died and recovered before she could think to ask Morgana.

At the prospect of a visit to another castle soon, Arthur was in great spirits for the rest of the evening. When Merlin had finished all her nightly chores, she felt brave enough to ask Arthur for a few days off to go spend Midsummer with her mother, and the Druids, in Ealdor.

“Arthur,” Merlin started.

“You’re dismissed,” he answered with a laugh.

“No… I…” Merlin stumbled over her words.

“What is it?” Arthur asked. “Are you worried I’ll go to another castle and get proper deference and respect from their servants and then fire you the minute I return?”

“No…” Merlin shook her head. “That was not it at all. That had honestly never crossed my mind.”

“Of course not, you’d have to be a little more sensible to think of a realistic occurrence like that,” Arthur teased. “Now, what is it?”

“I was hoping that I could have a few days off and spend Midsummer with my mother in Ealdor,” she explained. Arthur gave her a curious look.

“That’s a holiday for you, isn’t it?” he mused. “Of course, you can. Just make sure you let Gaius know before you leave, and tell one of the other servants to bring me breakfast. When did you want to leave?”

“Well, it’s next Wednesday, so I thought maybe Sunday or Monday.”

“And you’d be returning…”

“I’d leave Ealdor on Thursday, so I’d be back sometime Friday morning,” Merlin worried at her lip, hoping that he wouldn’t deem that too much time to be gone. Arthur just smiled at her.

“That’s perfectly fine. It will take us longer than that to get everything together to visit another kingdom, so I’ll even be able to take you with me to keep Gwen company. Morgana never goes anywhere without her.”

“Oh? I’m not coming to keep you company?”

Arthur scoffed playfully, “Of course not. I’ll be far too busy playing diplomat to have time for you.” Merlin rolled her eyes.

“I’ll pretend I believe that and let you save face,” she teased.

“Oh, go to bed, already,” Arthur grumbled back teasingly. Merlin obligingly left his chambers, it was late after all, but she knew that they would be back to normal now. The aborted kiss wouldn’t cause any awkwardness.

The next day proved her correct. There was no awkwardness between her and Arthur. They were back to normal. And she didn’t freeze when Geraint teased her about the fact Arthur had given her the time off to go home. Gaius was understanding of her wanting to spend the holiday with her mother, especially after the debacle with Nimueh and the Questing Beast. So, all that Merlin had to do before setting out the next afternoon was warn the servants that Arthur would not have his personal manservant for the next several days and let Arthur know. Arthur insisted she take one of his horses, but otherwise made no fuss over her leaving. Merlin was not truly surprised. Arthur liked to keep things close to the vest if he could.

The trip home was uneventful, other than Merlin’s arrival. Somehow, fate had timed it so she rode in on Arthur’s dark brown thoroughbred mare at the same time that the main band of the Catha rode in from the other trail to celebrate Midsummer at the Ealdor spring. Suddenly there was an uproar of chatter.

“Little Bird!” Aulfric called out.

“Little Bird!” Arwen echoed.

“Hello!” Merlin called back.

“Merlin!”

“Daughter!”

“Mother!”

“Will!”

Will and her mother had run to greet her and the Catha were trying to greet Iseldir’s band of Druids, who had already arrived, and at the same time greet Merlin and everyone was trying to hug everyone else in welcome and they also wanted to know where she had gotten such an expensive horse all on her own and Merlin felt tugged in myriad directions at once. It was complete chaos for quite some time as Merlin fussed over her Mother and Will for their recent near death experiences and then greeted the Catha and Iseldir’s band and Mordred came running out of the crowd and had to be introduced to her mother and Will even though he still was under his vow of silence.

It had been Samhain the last time Merlin had seen the Catha, so she was ecstatic to see them. Niniane greeted her with a kiss and Olvain, not to be outdone, did as well. Merlin swatted at him. Aulfric and Arwen both apologized for not having been in Ealdor the past winter and therefore missing her birthday. They had even gotten her a present, which they were still carrying around. It was a box that looked to be perfectly ordinary, but actually was a magical curiosity. If someone who did not own the box opened it, it looked empty no matter how full it was. But it could also hold more than its space would suggest, because with a little bit of magic, you could put different things in and they grouped together so if you wanted your money, the box would open to a pile of gold, but if you wanted something like illegal magical tomes, it would open to those. However, someone without magic could not access those parts of the box and if the person was not the owner, they would not be able to either, no matter how much magic they had. Merlin thought it was quite lovely. She could put a little money and a trinket or two in the part of the box that opened for strangers and no one would ever question it. And it could be shrunk down quite small for travel. It was a lovely present, even her mother agreed.

Her mother took advantage of the fact there was no one from Camelot with her to inform her in no uncertain terms of how dangerous she thought it was for Merlin to be masquerading as man using magic in Uther’s court. It was a very uncomfortable conversation and Merlin’s assurance that Arthur was more lenient than his father and Morgana was a Seer and one of the two of them would at least get her out of the cell should she somehow lose control of her spells and get in trouble did not make her mother feel any better.

Will, at least, was only happy to see her. He was feeling much better and had completely healed from the arrow through his stomach. He asked her about Camelot, and Arthur, and teased her about how it was so obvious that she fancied him. Merlin blushed and grumbled but did not correct him, as he was right. They spent a few lovely hours just catching up. Apparently Will’s heroics had gotten the attention of quite a few of the young women who before had turned their nose up at him and he was very amused by the entire experience.

Merlin did not even end up spending Midsummer night with Olvain, but he still somehow left a bruise on her collarbone. Of course, Olvain had been trying in his own way to court her since they were old enough to think of such things, so it was not too surprising. He did always greet her with an open-mouthed kiss. Merlin had been lucky enough to spend Midsummer with Niniane and a lovely, well-formed peasant who had recently joined Iseldir’s band named Gwaine. Even though he had no magic of his own, Gwaine seemed to respect the Goddess and her traditions in a way that few without magic still did. Of course, the Goddess was not the only one who could bestow magic, but she created the most sense in the world around them. Niniane left a bruise of her own on Merlin’s thigh. Gwaine had been gentle for the most part, but his fingerprints ringed her hipbones, from where he had gotten impatient and gripped her hips to keep her in place while he found his own pleasure. As Merlin had gotten plenty of her own, she had found the action more amusing than irritating and did not mind the light bruises. At least Niniane and Gwaine had kept the bruises where they would always be covered, unlike Olvain’s idiocy. 

The goodbyes took longer in Ealdor, as no one wanted her to leave. Gwaine had pressed a sweet kiss to her lips and told her he hoped their paths crossed again. Every other goodbye took at least thrice that length, including Mordred’s. She had to be hugged and kissed and wished well and given all manner of advice. Aulfric and Arwen had chided her for not having more time to stay so she could spend it with them. But Merlin had promised Arthur that she would leave on Thursday and return by dinnertime on Friday and she knew he would get upset if she was late returning, so she managed to disentangle herself from everyone and leave.

The trip back to Camelot was equally uneventful and Merlin decided that it was not her with the bad luck, but the citadel. Merlin had managed this trip twice by herself without any sort of interesting events whatsoever. Clearly Uther’s Purge and continued war against sorcery had taken all of their goodwill in the world and turned it sour, giving Arthur the bad luck. Her seeming bad luck those first few days in Camelot had been her Fate entwining with Arthur’s, after all, which was not nearly as horrible as Merlin had expected it to be. As she had guessed, she reached the castle just before dinnertime and Merlin dropped in on Gaius to tell him she had returned and set down the pack she had carried with her.

Arthur was eating in Morgana’s chambers, so Merlin just made her way there and let herself in. Gwen clapped her hands happily and rushed over to hug Merlin. Morgana and Arthur also grinned at her.

“Did you have fun? Or is Midsummer serious?”

“Midsummer is fun,” Merlin assured her. “And Mother was pleased to see me and Niniane was back and unfortunately, Aulfric still hasn’t dropped Olvain off the mountain on the way in, so he was there too. It was great fun.”

“Who?” Gwen asked. Merlin chuckled softly.

“Um, Niniane is a little older than me. We’re friends. Aulfric is about my mother’s age and Olvain is his ward. Owen, his actual son, is lovely, but he’s competent so he went off on his own ages ago. Olvain just really can’t be left on his own for anything length of time, so even though he’s, what, twenty, he’s still under Aulfric’s guidance.”

Arthur nodded with a mischievous look in his eye. “Is Niniane or Olvain your sweetheart, then?”

“Niniane, obviously,” Merlin scoffed. “If I had to take one of Aulfric’s sons, I’d certainly take Owen.”

“I suppose Gwen was right after all, what a shame,” Morgana interrupted their bantering with a pout. Merlin and Arthur turned to her in confusion, but Morgana gave no further explanation. They turned to Gwen.

“I thought the knights were mistaken in their rumors about the two of you,” she explained in a very quiet voice, cheeks flushed. Merlin knew her expression twisted with annoyance.

“Such rumors are beneath my notice,” Arthur snapped irritably. “And honestly, Morgana, I had thought they were beneath yours as well.”

“I was just amusing myself,” Morgana commented mildly. “I was hardly tarnishing your reputation. Gwen knows better than to repeat my conversations with her.”

“Gwen is completely trustworthy,” Merlin agreed. Arthur eyed Morgana suspiciously but conceded.

“Was your trip to Ealdor and back pleasant?” Morgana asked. “I know Arthur lent you a horse but that does not always aid the experience.”

“Nothing of too much interest happened on the way home or back,” Merlin told her with a shrug. “I think it’s only Arthur who can’t leave the citadel without finding some sort of trouble. He seems to attract it.”

“Doesn’t he?” Morgana laughed brightly. “It is a good thing that he’s such a skilled warrior or I’m sure he would never have survived to adulthood.”

“And what a crying shame that would have been,” Merlin teased. Arthur glared at her.

“I think my stables need mucked out,” he threatened.

“I think I was just there and they really don’t. I’m not a stablehand.”

“Really, Arthur, there’s no need to be spiteful just because you missed him,” Morgana teased. “I think I’ve seen more of you this week than in the past year.” Arthur flushed. Merlin laughed. Gwen looked a little scandalized, poor dear.

“Morgana, I think we better leave off teasing Arthur, Gwen looks like she’s forgotten how to breathe in shock,” Merlin said. Morgana turned to Gwen and quickly nodded.

“I’m sorry, Gwen,” she murmured. “I didn’t mean to shock you.”

“See, Arthur? Morgana’s nice to Gwen,” Merlin hinted. Arthur gently cuffed her round the head.

“Alright, clearly I managed to overstay my welcome, so we’re leaving,” Arthur announced. Morgana eyed him with amusement.

“Of course, Arthur. It’s been lovely having you keep me company for dinner every day. You must come back tomorrow.” Arthur looked like he had swallowed one of Gaius’ more foul tasting potions. Merlin could sympathize; Morgana was clearly trying to embarrass him. Arthur grumbled something back at her and nearly dragged Merlin out of her chamber.

“So, does that mean we’re eating with Morgana and Gwen tomorrow?” Merlin asked hopefully as they headed back towards Arthur’s chambers.

“Yes, you idiot,” Arthur rolled his eyes at her. “How was your trip? Your mother was well?”

“My mother was perfectly well, thankfully. My trip was lovely. It really was completely uneventful on the way there and back, no strange magical creatures, no bandits, no evil treasonous creatures disguised as beautiful women. I think it’s just your bad luck that you can’t have a nice pleasant afternoon in the woods.”

“Don’t remind me,” Arthur grumbled. “But you did enjoy yourself and whatever festivities there were?”

“Yes, I enjoyed myself. I got a very belated birthday present as well.”

“Was it your birthday?” Arthur asked quickly, looking concerned.

“Back in January,” Merlin shrugged. “I said very belated. But, then, they missed Yule, so I haven’t seen them since last Samhain.”

“Oh? Extended family members?”

“Well, they’re close family friends,” Merlin explained. Arthur nodded.

“What sorts of festivities do you have for Midsummer? Is it a family sort of holiday?” Merlin choked on nothing at the idea.

“Um, the sorts of festivities that can’t be discussed in mixed company,” she explained. “I just happened to also miss my mother.” Arthur was eyeing her with impressed surprise.

“Oh, ho, so you really did get to see Niniane,” he teased. Merlin blushed.

“Shut up,” she grumbled at him. Arthur playfully shoved her with his shoulder. Merlin shoved back. Of course, they only had so much time to tease. Arthur had to be on the training field that afternoon. Merlin finished up her chores while he was training and had not thought about the bruise on her collarbone when she took off her neckerchief. When Arthur came back in from training, however, he immediately noticed it.

“Have you left this room?” he asked, crossing the room to stand in front of her. Merlin shook her head in confusion. “I don’t know whether to be pleased or disappointed,” he murmured. Arthur pulled his glove off and pressed his finger to the bruise Olvain had left. It hurt a little, explaining what Arthur was talking about.

“Oh, I’d forgotten. It was just warm in here so I took off my neckerchief,” Merlin explained.

“Looks like Niniane was pleased with you,” Arthur murmured.

“No,” Merlin giggled. “That’s from Olvain. He’s got no sense of propriety. The bruise Niniane left is under my trousers because she has sense.”

“Oh,” Arthur breathed. Suddenly the air had tension that could be cut with a knife. Merlin felt frozen as Arthur cupped her chin in his hand. “I don’t think I’ve ever wished to not be who I am. But I wish I was someone who could never have power over you.”

“Well, then I probably wouldn’t know you,” Merlin told him with a shrug, trying to get her composure back. “I’d have saved some other prat prince and I’d be his manservant instead and you’d be someone in the lower town that I’ve maybe seen once.”

“If you think I would’ve let that stand, you clearly don’t know me very well,” Arthur teased. “I would’ve hunted you down.”

“People who work for their living don’t have time to hunt people down,” Merlin told him. “They’re busy working all day and then they want as much sleep as possible at night. They don’t just take the day off to go looking for someone.”

“Maybe you don’t,” Arthur teased. “Would you go fetch me a bath?”

“Of course,” Merlin nodded, grateful for the escape, even if Arthur was probably going to use the excuse to prance around with nothing on when she returned. He might be respecting that she turned him down, but he was not a man who was used to being told no. She managed to keep her eyes averted while Arthur was preening for her, as she did have armor to polish and mend.

Thankfully, Arthur quickly got over having missed her and they settled back into their usual routine within the next few days. Merlin was very grateful that routine had been established before there was a week of training getting rained out with afternoon storms. She could only imagine how Arthur would have taken the extra time without duties in close quarters if there had not been a few days of settling in first. Arthur went back to only touching her for playful teasing rather than getting in her space and trying to provoke a response. By the time that it had been decided and approved by everyone that Arthur and Morgana would return the visit to Mercia, to continue solidifying their treaty, Arthur treated her like anyone would treat a close friend.

Gwen was not looking forward to the journey to Mercia and back, anticipating sore muscles and uncomfortable camps. Morgana was excited for a change of place. Arthur was entirely too excited about the prospect of being on a horse in the woods. Merlin was more inclined to agree with Gwen than Morgana and Arthur. She had used her magic to make her bedroll comfortable on the trip to and from Ealdor, but she could not do that with Arthur and Morgana and Gwen and who knew how many knights all wandering around.

They left for Mercia on the second Saturday of July, with a small squadron of knights with their squires accompanying them. Mercia was north of Essetir, but also bordered Camelot, so they had only a full days’ travel to reach the border. Of course, Morgana had taken pity on Arthur and they started out late in the morning and went slowly, so Arthur could spend a night outside under the sky. They made camp about three hours’ ride from the border, but the sun was already sinking and the knights were unwilling to continue traveling in the near dark. Merlin made do, quickly washing in the river they had settled near and laying out her bedroll. Gwen was very upset about the whole thing and insisted on filling a bucket with water and the knights putting up a screen for her and Morgana to wash behind. Morgana herself clearly would have been fine with a damp towel and merely would have had a bath the next day, but Gwen was insistent. Apparently she was rather averse to traveling.

When they reached the border to Mercia, it was only midmorning, but Bayard’s knights were there at the border to escort them to the castle. Merlin sort of wanted to preen. Of course, she knew that the escort was for Morgana and Arthur, as a sort of respect thing, but she had an escort to the palace from the border. Arthur saw the way she straightened up and coughed into his hand to hide his laughter. Morgana looked around to see what Arthur was laughing at but Merlin had stopped fidgeting and Morgana had no idea.

They reached the castle of Mercia, an imposing military keep, around suppertime. Arthur and Morgana were shown to their chambers and Merlin and Gwen followed the Steward down to the kitchens to fetch baths for them to refresh after two days’ travels. Then one of the lower servants led them up to the guest chambers. Gwen was irritable about having to cart the water, but Merlin had magically lightened her own load and kept all commentary to herself. Magic wasn’t banned in Mercia, after all. Arthur gratefully sank into the cool water, happy to get the dirt of the road off. Merlin helped him wash and rinse his hair. Then Arthur tried to pull her into the washtub with him and she had to do some quick maneuvering to keep from getting her clothes soaked.

“I do not have twenty pairs of clothes,” she protested.

“Fine,” Arthur grumbled. He let her dry him off and then Merlin dressed him and decided that once-used bathwater was perfectly acceptable, since they still had time before they were supposed to be down for supper. She stripped down and sank into the water; and if she had thought of it, she would have been grateful that all her bruises from Midsummer had healed because Arthur might have had a tantrum had she told him about Gwaine. At the very least he would have gotten in another prat mood. As it was, he just watched her hungrily while she scrubbed the dirt and sweat off of her body. Merlin found it rather amusing, given that she was certain she was much more enticing in her own body. Merlin was clean and dressed and had taken the bath water down and had the tub taken away from her by a rather too efficient manservant and gotten back up to Arthur before the kitchen maid sent to escort them to the banquet hall for supper. Morgana was in her pretty indigo and teal dress, the one with the flowing sleeves, and Gwen complimented her in a pretty lavender dress. By contrast, Arthur’s usual supper-in-public clothes and Merlin’s outfit seemed a little lacking. Arthur did not look terribly impressive.

When they walked into the banquet hall and Arthur was introduced to Bayard’s children, his daughters seemed to be impressed. Of course, the elder daughter seemed to be about fifteen and Merlin thought that she might be easily impressed and the younger was clearly mimicking the elder’s behavior. Of Bayard’s three sons, two of them had impressive physique and the third was still a child. Morgana looked like she thought more visits to Mercia would be very important to the alliance’s stability, or, at least, that’s what she would be telling Uther. The way Bayard’s oldest son was eyeing her with interest in return did not get past Arthur or Bayard, who had completely opposite reactions. Arthur was displeased and Bayard looked like he thought it would be a smart match. Frankly, Merlin had to agree with Bayard. Morgana may be the King’s ward but Gorlois’ lands were relatively small and now run by a Steward, a good dowry, but hardly good to rely on entirely. Bayard’s eldest son would give her land and prestige, as a Queen in her own right, while further cementing the alliance between the two lands. Of course, if Uther was planning on giving Morgana to Arthur, he had more land and a larger army and would be a better choice, but if not, she could do much worse than Bayard’s heir. After all, Tir Mor and Kent had both been taken by Saxons and Gawant had a princess and a King with no Queen. The Lord of Northumbria had four sons, but even less land than Mercia. King Cenred was unmarried and young enough that he would not be a poor choice for Morgana, but there were no treaties with Essetir.

Bayard quickly sat his eldest son next to Morgana. Arthur made a face but Morgana was pleased with the arrangement so he held his tongue. Morgana happily flirted with Emery, the prince in question, throughout supper, while Arthur chatted with Bayard. After a fashion, Bayard’s Queen, Aithley, asked Arthur about the poisoning incident. Arthur gave a Merlin a look.

“Hey, I saved your life,” Merlin protested.

“Yes, and then I saved yours,” Arthur retorted. “Well, Merlin came rushing into the banquet hall from god knows where, because he was supposed to be with Gwen, and started going on and on about poison. He insisted on drinking the wine for me and unfortunately someone had poisoned it.”

“Nimueh,” Merlin piped up without thinking. Bayard paled. Arthur turned to her in confusion.

“Really?”

“Yeah,” Merlin nodded. “Gaius figured it out.”

“Gaius would certainly know her style,” Bayard agreed. “And if it was her, I feel much better about someone having gotten into my things. She’s the most powerful witch in Albion, after all.” Merlin just nodded, not pointing out that Nimueh was dead now and Merlin had already been more powerful than her anyway. Uther had caused a large upsurge in concentrated True Talent with the Purge and the death of the dragons.

“That was very brave of you,” Aithley murmured, looking at Merlin. “To interrupt a ceremony like that, drink poison for your master.” Merlin just shrugged and blushed. What did one say to such things?

“Merlin was raised in a village in the mountains, so he really didn’t understand the importance of the ceremony at the time,” Arthur said. “He’d only been my manservant for a little over a month at the time.”

“Really?” Aithley smiled at Merlin. “Well, then I am most impressed. Bayard should find himself a servant from a village in the mountains. Clearly they bring good fortune.” Arthur prodded her in the stomach and Merlin felt like a child again.

“Thank you,” Merlin muttered. Aithley laughed brightly.

“Oh, you haven’t truly been entertained until you’ve seen Merlin snapping back at Arthur, your majesty,” Morgana finally entered the conversation. “They’re very amusing. And it’s been very edifying for Arthur. He’s learned to curb his temper quite a bit since Uther gave Merlin the position as his manservant.”

“Morgana!” Arthur protested.

“Morgana, please, you’re embarrassing Gwen,” Merlin murmured. Gwen, of course, looked like she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her.

“It is true,” Morgana replied with a toss of her head. “Hmm… Merlin, what was that about superiors, you told a joke at the feast just after the tournament.”

“Oh, I remember,” Merlin smiled. “Arthur told me to bow to superiors and I told him I would when I found one.”

“And then you bowed to Morgana,” Arthur finished. “But I had told you to keep Morgana entertained.”

“And it was true,” Merlin teased.

“I pay your salary,” Arthur shot back. “You have to bow to me too.”

“And I live to serve, my lord,” Merlin drawled, bowing as sarcastically as possible. Arthur reached out and cuffed her gently.

“What have I told you about that tone?” he asked.

“I’m afraid I don’t remember,” Merlin told him. Arthur glared at her. She smirked at him as she continued her thought, “Though I believe I remember you telling me that it was a good thing that I didn’t curb my tongue.”

“That was when you spoke out against Valiant and saved Sir Ewan’s life, Merlin, not when you’re merely being facetious.”

“See? Did I not tell you they were amusing?” Morgana interrupted them with a bright smile. Aithley giggled at them all.

“You were certainly correct. I had no idea Uther tolerated such a lack of deference in his court anymore,” she replied.

“My Father requires only the best behavior from the castle servants,” Arthur assured her. “It is only my own lenience with Merlin you see. His value is in his loyalty rather than perfect deference.”

“You’d be bored,” Merlin murmured teasingly.

“We’re done, Merlin,” Arthur stated firmly. She subsided. It would not help the alliance to make him look like he had no control over his household, after all. Bayard looked a little more impressed. It showed better control for Merlin to clearly be allowed to speak freely and yet fall perfectly into line when Arthur told her to. His wife also seemed to be pleased with the picture it painted. And clearly Morgana was pleased because after supper she swept him into her arms.

“You could not have done better if I had arranged the whole thing myself,” she gushed.

“So, you did impress Emery with us?” Arthur teased.

“I impressed Bayard and Aithley,” Morgana countered. “Or rather, you did. Merlin, you were absolutely perfect. I don’t know where you learned to stand like a proper servant but that was the perfect time to show off.”

“Shall I pull a flower out of your hair tomorrow?” Merlin asked. “I’m not a fool, to entertain everyone.”

“Of course you won’t play fool’s tricks,” Arthur stated. “You are my personal manservant. Morgana, do not argue with me.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t dream of it. Just keep up with Merlin’s freedom and respect contrasting like they did tonight and the next letter from Mercia to Uther will be singing your praises as a leader.” Morgana beamed and kissed Arthur on the cheek. “And here I thought I’d never get you to be able to handle diplomacy.”

“Well, that’s what you’re for,” Arthur grumbled. “I’ll keep the people safe from bandits and creatures and invaders and you make the alliances.”

“Or Morgana could entertain Emery’s offer,” Merlin piped up. “She’d be Queen here too, and it would permanently cement the alliance, with how close you are. I mean, Camelot is bigger than Mercia, but it is still a good offer.”

“Well, when he offers, we will see what Uther thinks,” Morgana replied. “Until then, I plan to enjoy myself. Goodnight!” She waltzed off into her chambers and Arthur shook his head indulgently at her antics while he went into his own chambers. Merlin followed him and then realized she did not know where her bed was. The Steward had told her and Gwen that they would be staying in Arthur and Morgana’s chambers, for obvious convenience reasons, but Merlin had not seen a cot anywhere. After a short search and going over to ask Gwen, who had been coming to do the same, they both determined that there were no cots to be had and they would simply have to sleep with Morgana and Arthur. Merlin could not help but think that that would be much easier for Morgana and Gwen than it would be for her and Arthur. Arthur was going to be insufferable about the whole situation. Why was this her life, again? Oh, right, her mother could not find it in her to trust their neighbors and Merlin had an unfortunate habit of being unable not to help when she was able to do so.

“Arthur,” Merlin interrupted his reading as she walked back in.

“You’re dismissed,” Arthur assured her, rolling his eyes.

“Um, no, Gwen and I are supposed to be in Morgana and your chambers, respectively, for everyone’s convenience,” Merlin replied.

“Well, where’s your bed?” Arthur asked with honest confusion, looking around as though a cot would suddenly materialize in a corner somewhere.

“I think there,” Merlin pointed at the bed in the middle of the room that was clearly for noble guests. Arthur had to take a minute to let that sink in. Then he looked at her, then back at the bed, and repeated the movement a few times.

“Well, I certainly won’t make you sleep on the floor,” he said carefully. “But I am also not sleeping on the floor. So, we would be sharing the bed.”

“Yes,” Merlin was the one rolling her eyes now. How did Arthur function, really? She completely understood why Morgana despaired of him ever being able to do diplomacy on his own. Of course, now he had Merlin.

“Well, you’re the one who was worried about boundaries,” Arthur purred, abandoning his papers and stalking closer. “I didn’t want to push you.” Apparently, pinning her up against the wall did not count as pushing her to him, since that was exactly where she found herself. Merlin drew herself up to her full height and looked down at Arthur. She had not done it since he had gotten his sling off and recovered from his prat mood, as it upset him by making him feel as though Merlin had the upper hand. It worked, though. Arthur took a step back and his arms fell to his side.

“Arthur, get ahold of yourself. Where’s all that self-restraint you say knights have to cultivate?”

“Somewhere on the training field in Camelot,” Arthur said with a soft scoff at himself. Merlin brushed past him.

“Well, I suggest you find it before I have to smack sense into you,” Merlin told him. “I’m going to bed.” She stripped out of her clothes and slid into the bed. It was a down mattress with soft, slippery sheets and they were still cool. “Oh, is this silk?”

“Yes,” Arthur laughed softly at her, but when she looked up, he was smiling fondly at her, not mockingly. “I just can’t take you anywhere.”

“Lies,” Merlin grumbled, stretching out and feeling the cool fabric slither over her skin. It was wonderful. She would be so spoiled by the time they left. She had gotten comfortable and nearly fallen asleep sprawled across the mattress like Arthur always slept, so much more understandably now, when Arthur blew out the candles and crawled in beside her, crowding her over to one side of the bed. Merlin barely roused, letting Arthur manhandle her into a comfortable position, with his arm curled around her waist.

The morning sun woke her the next morning, peeking in around the curtains neither one of them had thought to pull fully closed. Arthur moaned softly, the same ray of light in his eyes. But Arthur buried his face in the pillow and pulled her closer, as a further block of the light. Merlin was debating whether to pull the curtains closed with magic or not when she heard the door ease open. Merlin craned her neck around to see who it was.

“Merlin,” Gwen called out quietly. “Are you awake? I don’t want to get Morgana’s breakfast by myself.”

“Can you pull the curtains?” Merlin whispered back, “Arthur’s using me to block the light.” Gwen hurried over obligingly and pulled the curtains closed. Merlin wriggled out of Arthur’s embrace and hurriedly dressed while Gwen blushed furiously and averted her eyes.

“Sorry, I didn’t think… I mean of course you wouldn’t sleep in your clothes… I didn’t mean to…” she babbled incoherently.

“Hush, Gwen, it’s fine,” Merlin reassured her, leading the way out of Arthur’s chambers. “And I completely understand not wanting to have to brave the kitchens alone.”

“The kitchens are always the busiest part of the castle,” Gwen agreed. Together, no one bothered them and they were quickly in and out with breakfast trays. Both of them had been too uncomfortable to eat in the kitchens, so Gwen was scarfing down bread on the walk back. Merlin had just put her breakfast on the tray with Arthur’s. He would much rather she eat than be hungry just because it was not considered the done thing for a servant to eat with their master.

That day there was much to be done. First, there was a tour of the castle and grounds. Mercia apparently had pretty gardens. Merlin was shocked. Arthur cuffed her for gawking. Then dinner was a public affair. Merlin was a little grumpy about the whole thing, but it made perfect sense. She had to scarf her food down like a dog to get dinner. That afternoon, Morgana and Gwen got to chat with Aithley and her daughters inside and browse their library while Merlin had to be outside in the heat with Arthur and the knights, doing some sort of weird training thing where first the knights of Camelot showed off and then the knights of Mercia did the same. All Merlin knew was that she was stuck outside in the sun for hours and it was hot and she wanted to go back inside. It was suppertime when they finally went back inside and supper was another public affair.

The rest of their time passed much the same as the first day. Thankfully Arthur quickly acclimated to sharing the bed with her and it did not elicit the same reaction every time. Emery and Morgana grew quite close and everyone was expecting some sort of declaration from Emery before they left. Arthur was still not certain about it, but the second morning they had been left to their leisure and Merlin had gone over the map of Albion with Arthur, asking where Morgana could find a better match if Uther did not want her to marry Arthur himself. Arthur had admitted that Mercia was a perfectly good kingdom for Morgana to marry into and that Bayard and his sons seemed to be honorable men of good humor. Merlin did not point out that Mercia also welcomed magic, since it was only in Camelot that Morgana would face that stigma.

On the last night of their stay, Emery finally made a declaration. Of course, without Uther’s consent, Emery could not make a true proposal, nor could Morgana give him an answer. But apparently making a declaration was about the same as proposing, since there was all sorts of fanfare that evening about it. Arthur did not look any more impressed with the fanfare than Merlin felt, but that might have been because he still was not excited about the prospect of Morgana marrying Emery.

The next morning, the continuing fanfare about this declaration delayed their departure until well after sunrise. As they got out of the keep, Arthur’s spirits seemed to brighten. He finally realized that he would get to spend two days outside again. Gwen was a little despondent about the whole thing. She really did not like to travel. Merlin was happy to be away from the constant stress of being on display in a foreign court. In Camelot, she already knew most everyone who would normally see her, so there was no concern of them being rude if she did not do exactly as they expected.

Gwen was just as fussy on the return trip as she had been on the way there. They had to wash, and there had to be a screen to protect their modesty. Merlin was a little embarrassed on Gwen’s behalf for the fuss she was making. It was hardly like the water was any different in the bucket than the river. And the journey was not four days long or something. It was not that necessary to have a screen to wash.

The next day, they rode into Camelot just in time for supper. Since they had been on a journey but had not had time to clean up, once again, Uther was treated to the smell of horses and sweat and dirt during his meal. Arthur bathed after supper and Merlin used his bathwater out of habit. They had been in Mercia for a fortnight, after all. Arthur reminded her where they were when she started to head for the bed though. It was for the best, even if Merlin was even more jealous of his bed than normal. Gaius would have had all sorts of fits if she had not gone back to his chambers to sleep all night without him knowing that she was doing something else.


End file.
